My plans for my 318

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MrJLR

MrJLR

Built, not bought
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318 of unknown origin. Good compression on all 8. Doesn't smoke or burn oil.
Feels pretty lame at the moment though.

So I bought Doug's D453 headers.
I'm going to pull the engine, change pan gasket and rear main.
Clean and paint it. Edelbrock 650 carb and proformer manifold.
New distributor, plugs and wires.
Lastly, off to the exhaust shop for a new 2.5" system from the headers back with Flowmaster Delta 40's.


So.....sound like a solid plan to wake it up a little?

I'd like to change the cam while I'm at it.
Any suggestions?

Jeff
 
Sounds good to me. Make sure you get a distributor with both an adjustable mechanical and vacuum advance.
 
Good advice from RRR

I advise keeping the cams duration (at .050) under 220*'s since your retaining the stock converter. 218 and less is good.
 
Hmmm....maybe I should put a mild stall converter in while the engine is out?
Or maybe I should leave well enough alone? !!!!

In the future I plan on a 408 stroker. ......guess I can skip the cam for now!
 
I'd do cam, the cam will make the biggest improvement
There's a build up were they do cam header and 4 bbl swap on a stock (low cr) long block 318. Headers with factory 2 bbl and cam gave 17? Hp and 4 bbl and a comp 262 cam increased to 282 hp.
 
Considering the gears & factory stall converter you have, a cam IF kept at a reasonable size will add to the package well. Going to big without adding proper stall will just cause problems. You can do pretty well with a stock converter and small cam. Though I don't know what your intended goal is.

An old member here had a race only Duster but kept the entire package on the Mello side. He lightened the car up a lot! (A key thing!) in his 360, he used a intake duration @.050 of 218. Ran the best of mid 12's. Not bad huh?

I used a simalar cam in a low compression '78, 318 in a 74 Duster/904/3.21 sure gripped rear & stock tires. Basic engine bolt on parts. Ruff tuned, The First outing was 15.14. Not a house on fire! But it did come down into the 14's.

Which is the goal for you?
 
rumblefish360 said:
Considering the gears & factory stall converter you have, a cam IF kept at a reasonable size will add to the package well. Going to big without adding proper stall will just cause problems. You can do pretty well with a stock converter and small cam. Though I don't know what your intended goal is.

An old member here had a race only Duster but kept the entire package on the Mello side. He lightened the car up a lot! (A key thing!) in his 360, he used a intake duration @.050 of 218. Ran the best of mid 12's. Not bad huh?

I used a simalar cam in a low compression '78, 318 in a 74 Duster/904/3.21 sure gripped rear & stock tires. Basic engine bolt on parts. Ruff tuned, The First outing was 15.14. Not a house on fire! But it did come down into the 14's.

Which is the goal for you?
Click to expand...

My goal is to keep a smile on my face while I save for a stroker. ..!

I want to wake her up a little. ......
 
I think RRR has good suggestions...keep the cam below 268-270 duration so you can stay with your stock gears/converter, swap to a tunable ignition, and your other pieces and go from there. A well manicured 318 will be worth plenty of smiles in an A body until such time as you need more thrust. Do you want to bracket race at all?

EDIT: I would however, suggest that if you're going to do a krylon rebuild that you sling on a new timing set with one of the magnum chain tensioners unless you know it's been R2d recently...just a thought, and just my .02
 
txstang84 said:
I think RRR has good suggestions...keep the cam below 268-270 duration so you can stay with your stock gears/converter...

EDIT: I would however, suggest that if you're going to do a krylon rebuild that you sling on a new timing set with one of the Mancini MP Timing Chain Tensioners - $34.00 unless you know it's been R2d recently...just a thought, and just my .02
Click to expand...


:evil3: what ^ he said...I editted a little

Here it is:
http://www.manciniracing.com/moptimchaint.html
 
MrJLR said:
My goal is to keep a smile on my face while I save for a stroker. ..!

I want to wake her up a little. ......
Click to expand...

Amen brother! I hear ya!

If you grab a torque converter to allow for more camshaft duration, the power program can be stepped up a bit. On the cheap, since the goal is a stroker down the road and you don't want to spend/waste to much money on the now 318, an inexpensive Summit racing converter will help without breaking the bank.

Good luck on the future stroker motor! I know that will be fun.
 
The cam I recommended works well with a stock converter. That's what I would use.
 
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